I Woke Up Like This: Messy Curl Tutorial

Hello fam! Welcome back for another lazy girl, super easy hair tutorial. In my last hair post I shared with y’all my go-to summer hair hack. If you’re new here and you missed it, be sure to check it out, like, comment, and subscribe so you don’t miss the next one!

Alright, y’all. Let’s dive right in. I generally don’t use heat styling tools. In fact, I pretty pointedly avoid them most days. They can be time consuming, damaging, and I have yet to master the art of handling one without burning myself. User error, but still. Be that as it may, I love voluminous, curly, full-bodied hair. My hair? Naturally stick straight and unforgivingly fine. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it’s wasted on me. So when the Olsen Twins Circa 2002 urge is too strong for me to resist, I bust out the curling iron. Okay, I confess: sometimes it’s my wave crimper thing…But today it’s the curling iron. Over the years I’ve picked up a few tricks from various stylists and have implemented them rather successfully (I think).

I start by sectioning off my hair, keeping the top part up and out of the way until I’m ready for it. Starting with the bottom of my hair, I grab half inch to one inch sections of hair and curl. Now in this tutorial, I’m using a fairly small barreled curling iron. I do have a larger curling wand but I’m just not as comfortable with it as I am with this one. Really it comes down to personal preference. The larger the iron, the larger and looser the curl.

As I work my way around the back of my head I alternate curling toward my face and away from so that the curls go in opposite directions from one another. This keeps them from running all together in one mass and gives a fuller, more natural overall effect. Now here’s a tip: I don’t curl the bottom inch or two section of hair. This means there’s volume where it’s needed, in the body of the hair, while inadvertently sparing my ends. It also gives more of a laid back, romantic look as opposed to tighter, doll-like ringlets. More cool-girl chic, less grade school picture day.

Really steps 5 through 8 are no different from 1 through 4. I continue curling in opposing directions, leaving the bottom one to two inches of each section uncurled. In another recent tutorial you’ll have read that I recently DIY’d some feather hair extensions. And guesss what? They’re 100% compatible with my daily routine, whatever it may be, including heat styling tools. I’m still careful to avoid the clamps and not hold the feathers too long, but as you can see they curl right along with my hair and add a pop of unexpected fun.

When all is said and done, I run my fingers through the curls to loosen them a bit and depending on what I have going on for the day, I may spritz all over with a setting product like hairspray or maybe some texturizing spray. In total, this look takes me maybe 20minutes at most. Not a crazy amount of time in the grand scheme of things but certainly more than I’m willing to spend on a daily basis—and for me, it would have to be on a daily basis because my hair doesn’t hold curl very well. This means there’s little to no chance of it lasting to day two. However, for someone with more body or even with a bit of natural texture to their hair, this could hold up through a full night’s sleep and only need a few touchup’s the next morning.

So there we have it, Miles tribe. Call it what you will. Bohemian. Rock and roll. Beachy. Whatever or however it fits into your life, this hairstyle is easy-peasy and adaptable. And the best part is, this style works on just about every hair length (buzz cuts excluded… but if you’re rocking a buzz, you’re probably already a badass diva queen who don’t need no curl, am I right?). Have some tips and tricks of your own? Or maybe you have some awesome suggestions for content you’d love to see on MilesToGo? Be sure to “like” this post and comment below with your tutorial results or send me a message at milestogoxo@gmail.com. Wishing you all good things, always.

This is a great question. First, I make sure to take some sort of biotin supplement because healthy hair starts from the inside out. I don’t wash my hair every day opting instead to use dry shampoo between washes so that I’m promoting the production of healthy, natural oils which my hair needs to survive and thrive. Lately I’ve been loving two products in particular to help heal my ends: (1) It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-In for Blondes Conditioning Spray and (2) OGX’s Hydrate & Color Reviving Lavender Luminescent Platinum Penetrating Oil with UVA/UVB Sun-Filters. With the It’s a 10, I spritz just a few times in the lower body of my hair and comb through. With the lavender oil I take a dime sized amount in my palm hand and run my fingers through my hair starting about halfway to three quarters of the way down my hair focusing on the ends. Both products smell amazing both provide some serious moisture. Just don’t over-apply– too much of a good thing can weigh your stands down. Hope this helps!